Runs In The Family
by GleeJunkie007
Summary: Nick and Jeff are married with a 13 year old son. Jeff and his son have a lot in common, including a childhood fear. What will happen when they need a trip to the dentist?
1. Chapter 1

Nick and Jeff had been married for about 10 years. They had met in college while Nick was studying to be a dentist and Jeff was studying to be a school teacher. They had a few bumps in the road then, but that didn't affect their love for each other.

Once they had both graduated, they decided to get married; of that was after Jeff agreed to it after Nick proposed to him.

Then about a year or so they decided they wanted to start a family, especially since their careers were on the right path. They decided to adopt and after waiting a little while, they got a call and adopted their son, Liam. He was around 3 years old. He may have been a little older than intended, but they knew that he was perfect for them.

Liam was very close with both his father, but more so to Jeff, they had a few more things in common than he did with Nick; and one of those things Jeff wish he didn't have himself.

...

One morning, Nick and Jeff were in the kitchen. It was a weekend, so neither of them had work. Nick was cooking breakfast, while Jeff was at the table looking at a NEWS article on his phone. Then their 13 year old son, Liam came down and sat at the table.

"Morning Liam." Jeff greeted his son. He glanced at him and noticed something wasn't right with him. "Is everything alright?" Liam looked up at him and nodded. Jeff still wondered because something seemed off with him.

"I'm just tired, I guess." Liam said. Jeff believed, until he glanced up at him again and saw him grasping the right side of his mouth.

Jeff got up from the table as Liam put his hand down. Jeff walked over to his husband, who then turned the stove off and put food on the table. "Is something wrong?" Nick whispered, he could notice by Jeff's expression.

"I saw Liam holding his jaw." Jeff whispered, but Liam heard it and looked at the food, pretending that he didn't. Nick then looked at his son, wondering what he should say next.

"Liam, is there something you want to tell us?" Nick asked and Liam shook his head. Nick looked at Jeff and then back at their teenage son. "Do you have a toothache?" Liam shook his head once again.

"Liam, I saw you holding that side of your mouth." Jeff said, sitting down in front of him, pointing to the side Liam was holding before.

"I'm fine." Liam insisted, but then Nick got an idea.

"Then eat something." Nick said. "If your tooth is fine, then you should have no problem with eating some of the bacon I made." Liam gulped as he slowly picked up a piece of bacon; it was crispy so Liam knew that he was probably going to lose this. He took a small bite and then almost instantly yelped in pain and grasped his jaw again. "That's what I thought." Nick mumbled to himself. Jeff then went back over to his husband who was now looking at him.

"So what now?" Jeff asked.

"I guess it's time for a trip to the—" Nick said as they both then turned around to find that Liam was no longer there. "Where did he go?" They then left the kitchen and went looking for their son. Nick would look downstairs and Jeff would look upstairs. Soon enough Jeff found him in his room, he was looking the other way, trying to avoid looking at his father.

"Liam." Jeff said, calmly. Liam sighed as he knew it was Jeff and he turned to him and Jeff knew the look his son was giving him very well. He sat on the bed next to him and put his arm around him. "Are you okay?"

"I don't want to go." Liam said in a whisper and Jeff sighed. He knew what his son was feeling; he knew it very well.

"I'm going to talk to your father—"

"No!" Liam pleaded. "He'll make me go no matter what. I don't want to."

"I will try and talk to him." Jeff said, getting up and heading downstairs. He found Nick as he went down the stairs.

"Did you find him?" Nick asked and Jeff nodded. "Where?"

"In his bedroom." Jeff said and Nick was about to run up there, but Jeff stopped him. "Wait Nick. We need to talk first."

"Is this about Liam?" Jeff nodded.

"He's scared." Jeff said. "That's why he didn't tell us."

"I kind of figured that, but that doesn't change anything, Jeff. He has to have a dentist see what's bothering him or things will get worse." Nick said and Jeff sighed. He knew that Liam would have to, but he wondered if there was something that would make it easier; he knew where Liam was coming from with his fear. Jeff followed Nick was walking into Liam's room and Nick sighed when he saw the terrified look on his son's face.

"Liam, you have to get that tooth looked at." Nick said, but Liam shook his head in protest.

"No, I don't want to!"

"You'll feel much better after it's fixed—"

"No! It will hurt!" Liam cried and that was when Jeff stepped in, sitting next to him and hugging his son. Jeff wished that he hadn't passed on his dentist phobia to his son, but somehow he had and now Liam was terrified.

"Everything will be alright." Jeff comforted. "I'll be there with you the whole time." That really didn't make a difference. "Would it make you feel a little bit better if dad fixed your tooth for you?" Liam looked at Nick and he smiled.

"Would you like that better, bud?" Nick asked and Liam nodded. He didn't want to go to a dentist at all, but if it was his dad, he figured it might be a little easier.

* * *

**I finally wrote a Niff! This will probably be like 2 or 3 chapters! :) **

**REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

Soon Nick, Jeff, and Liam were in the car heading to Nick's office. Jeff looked to the back of the car and saw that his son had a look of terror on his face and his legs were jolting up and down. Jeff let out a sigh and Nick glanced through one of his mirrors to get a glance of his son. "I haven't seen a look like that since I met you."

"I wish there was something we could. I hate seeing him like this." Jeff said and Nick nodded in agreement; but there wasn't much they could at the moment.

"Everything is going to be okay, Liam." Jeff said and Liam looked up at him with this pleading look to take him home. Jeff knew how he felt completely and in a way wanted to, but also knew that Nick was right about this situation.

Very soon they arrived at the office. Nick and Jeff got out first and when they realized Liam wasn't going to get out willingly, Nick opened his door. "Come on, Liam." Nick said and Liam slowly got out the car and then walked slowly behind them.

"You'll be just fine." Jeff said.

"Your dad's right, I'm just going to make you feel better." Nick said.

_I'd feel better if you took me home. _Liam thought. All he could think about was all the bad things that might happen. Soon they walked through the waiting room and into one of the exam room.

Jeff looked around as Liam stood in the doorway. "It's going to be okay." Jeff told him once again as he led Liam into the room. Jeff then closed the door on Nick's request. Liam stood by Jeff as Nick washed his hands and then put on some gloves after sitting on his swivel stool.

"Come sit up here, Liam." Nick requested, but Liam shook his head. "Come on, I'm just going to take a look."

"Hey, your dad won't hurt you." Jeff told his son. "I remember I was afraid of the dentist—"

"You were?" Liam asked in disbelief and Jeff nodded.

"Yes, but your dad has helped me get over it. You have to trust him." Jeff said, but Liam was still terrified. His eyes widened at the sight of drill and some of the other tools. But he then walked towards the chair and then sat in it.

Nick smiled at his son as he put on a pair of gloves and a bib on Liam. He sighed, looking down at his feet as Nick reclined the chair and turned on the light. Liam squinted when the light hit his eyes for a second. "Alright Liam, open up for me." Nick said and after a moment Liam did a little, but it wasn't enough for Nick. "A little more." Nick said and Liam did and that was when the examination began.

Liam felt very uncomfortable. He just wanted this to be over. Very soon Nick was done with the exam, knowing what he was going to proceed with. "Okay, so all you are going to need is a small filling." Nick told his son. "It'll be really easy." Nick assured him, but that wasn't what Liam thought of it.

_I am about to enter a world of pain._

Nick began to get some things he was going to need for the procedure as Liam sat there in distress. Liam looked over at Jeff who smiled at him. Liam turned back and keep thinking about what was going to happen next; he was starting to get really freaked out. He saw what Nick was doing and started to get off his chair as Jeff then came over to him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jeff asked him.

"I need to use the bathroom." Liam told him, but Jeff wasn't so sure. He couldn't even count the number of times he tried to use that one as an excuse to leave.

"Are you sure that is where you are going?" Jeff asked, looking Liam in the eye; Nick always did this with him. Liam nodded.

"Yes, I swear." He said and Jeff nodded and let Liam leave the room. He hoped he was right in letting him leave the room, but he felt like he should. Nick disagreed on Jeff's letting him leave, but he sighed as there was nothing they could do about it now that it was done. They waited about 5 minutes and Liam still hadn't returned.

"Why did you let him leave again?" Nick asked.

"He said he had to go to the bathroom." Jeff answered and Nick glared. "Hey, I did the thing you did with me when I tried it."

"And?!"

"He did the opposite of what I did." Nick sighed, that was a way he used to scared patients, Jeff being one of them, to tell if they actually needed to use it or if they wanted to try and slip out. Liam may have passed it, but him still not being back was concerning. Nick and Jeff then went down the hall to the bathroom.

* * *

Once Liam had left the room, he quickly walked down to the bathroom and locked door. He splashed some water on his face and told himself to breathe. "Relax Liam." He told himself as he sat on the floor of the bathroom by the sink. "Relax. Nothing will happen in here." He was glad to be out of the room he was with his fathers. He loved his dad, but he didn't liked what he did and certainly didn't want to be one of those patients. He was scared to death, which was why he was reduced to hiding in the bathroom.

After about five minutes he heard his father's voices at the door, his stomach began to feel upset again; like it was when he was sitting in the chair or in the car on the way to where he was. He didn't want to go back in.

In the hallway, Nick and Jeff took turns knocking, but no answer. "Liam, are you okay?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah." Liam replied softly, which Jeff and Nick both heard.

"Liam, you have to come out so I can fix that tooth." Nick told him.

"No." Liam replied softly. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Liam!" Nick said, a little louder. It didn't matter since Nick, Jeff, and Liam were the only ones in the building. Nick sighed as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys.

"You have a key to the bathroom?" Jeff questioned.

"A lot of my patients are children and the bathroom is their favorite hiding place." Nick told him. "Which is why I made a key. Very unlikely to be able to coax a 5 year old out." Nick started to unlock the door and once they heard a small click, they opened the door and Nick put the keys back in his pocket.

When they walked in, they frowned at the sight of Liam in the corner of the bathroom. He had his legs up to his chest, with arms wrapped around them, keeping them close. Jeff and Nick looked at each other and then back and Liam. They could hear some small whimpers coming from him.

Nick and Jeff went over to their son, getting on their knees to be at level with them. "Hey, it's going to be okay." Jeff whispered, softly as he rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.

"Liam, tell us what's wrong. What's scaring you?" Nick asked, he hated seeing his son like this; he wanted to help him.

"Everything." Liam mumbled.

"What scares you the most? More than anything." Jeff asked.

"…and why?"

"The needles and the drill." Liam admitted in a soft whisper voice. "It's going to hurt a lot."

"Hey, I promise it's not going to hurt much at all." Nick told him. "You will feel a small prick, but then after that…you won't feel a thing." Liam looked at his fathers, mostly at Nick. He didn't seemed convinced.

"Swear?" Liam asked and both his fathers nodded.

"I swear. And it will only take about 10 minutes and then you will be done." Nick told his son, but Liam still wasn't sure. "…and you will feel much better afterwards." Liam's tooth was bothering him, but he was still terrified of what could happen if he let Nick fix his tooth. But nodded and followed his dads back into the room; he knew he wasn't going to get out of there until Nick fixed the tooth.

"Okay Liam, sit down and we'll try this again." Nick said and Liam sat in the chair again, looking worse than he did the first time. "Okay, so I do need to give you a shot, but I promise it's not as bad as you think." Nick told Liam, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

Nick picked up the needle and showed it to Liam. He stared at with the same wide eyes, but he seemed a little at ease that it wasn't huge. "Remember, you will feel a little prick, but that's it." Liam nodded, but Nick sighed. He hated seeing him so scared. He looked at Jeff and got an idea.

"Would you like your dad to hold your hand while I give this to you?" Nick asked and Liam thought for a seconds, but eventually nodded. Jeff smiled and moved his chair closer to Liam's. Nick knew for some patients, holding someone's hand helped.

"Alright, are you ready?" Nick asked Liam as he took his dad's hand. Liam nodded as he laid back, closed his eyes tight, and squeezed Jeff's hand. Nick then took the needle and gave Liam the injection. Liam opened his eyes when he heard Nick put it back on the tray.

"That's it?" Liam asked and both adults smiled and nodded at the boy.

"See? Nothing really to it." Nick said as Liam started make some faces, obviously feeling the effects of the Novocain. After a minute or so, Nick picked up the drill which made Liam fearful again.

"Don't worry, Liam, you won't feel it at all." Jeff said, but Liam was still worried about it and Nick then looked at Jeff and somehow Jeff knew what to do so he reached into his pocket and handed Liam his iPod.

"Now you won't hear it or feel it." Nick said and Liam grinned at he put the earphones in. Very soon the next part began and Liam looked a little more at ease with the music playing in ears and with his dad right next to him. About 5 later, he was finished.

"You are all done." Nick said.

"Really?"

"Was that so bad?" Nick questioned.

"It's okay, he said the same thing to me when it was me in this situation." Jeff whispered after seeing the embarrassing look on Liam's face. Liam quickly left the room and Jeff then started to get up to leave with his son when Nick stopped him.

"What?" Jeff asked.

"You're not going anywhere. It's your turn." Nick said and Jeff gave him a look of confusion. "Liam isn't the only one sitting in this chair today."

* * *

**Sorry for the delay, but I have been trying to get this chapter perfect and the last few days have gotten away from me.**

**But I hope you liked this. And it looks like Liam isn't the only one in that situation. So it looks like 3 chapters for this story!**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Nick, stop joking—" Jeff said, he didn't believe that Nick was serious about it being his turn.

"Jeff, I'm serious. You are due." He told him.

"Nick, can we please do this another day? I am pretty sure that Liam is eager to get out of here." Jeff replied. He hoped it would work and he wouldn't have to be a patient today.

"It won't take long, now sit down." Nick said and Jeff sighed and slowly sat down in the chair. He shifted his placement in the chair as Nick got ready. Jeff tried to not look at him, he didn't understand why this was necessary.

"Come on now, don't be like this." Nick said as he sat on his stool.

"Like what?" Jeff questioned. He didn't want to be stubborn, but he didn't like not having a say in this sort of situation. It wasn't like anything was wrong.

"This will be quick." Nick told him. "You know I won't hurt you."

"You know I don't like you forcing me to do this."

"This needs to be done eventually. I was actually going to suggest this over breakfast, but then all that happened with Liam, so things worked out." Nick said and Jeff rolled his eyes. Nick found it funny how things worked out. "And besides, you were great with Liam. You should maybe take your own advice." He said, giving a wink.

"This place has always given me the creeps, it will never stop." Jeff said and Nick turned the light on and lowed the chair. Nick smiled.

"Just relax…and open up." He said and Jeff did so almost instantly. "Good." He started to clean his teeth and then polish them and he didn't get any indication that Jeff was scared or uncomfortable. "You're doing great, almost done. Just the exam is left."

"I thought it was just a cleaning. You lie!" Jeff said and Nick rolled his eyes.

"I said no such thing. What's wrong? You hiding something from me?" Nick questioned and Jeff couldn't hold back the smile and then opened up and the exam proceeded. It only took about a few minutes and Nick found nothing wrong.

"Okay, you're all done." Nick said and Jeff got out of the chair.

"FINALLY!" Jeff exclaimed, sarcastically.

"Was it so bad?" Nick asked, playfully.

"It was terrifying." Jeff said, playfully back.

* * *

**I finally updated this after like…forever. It's very short, I know. I decided to make it a fun chapter…I guess. :D**

**I hope you liked it!**

**Special thanks to Tif S, Wings0fAnAngel, cuteasklaine0216, Val25, SocialButterfly85, Blooms-At-Twilight, warblerette-laur, & Guest **

**Thanks for reviewings. Also thank you for favoriting and following.**


End file.
